IPhone 4s stuck in Recovery Mode. CANNOT Restore. Help!

I need help getting my iPhone out of recovery mode. All that the screen shows is a black background, the white charger, and an arrow pointing at the iTunes icon. When I plugged the charging cable into my computer to recharge my phone's battery -- it had gotten below 10% before the screen changed to this -- iTunes tells me that I need to restore my iPhone.
Here's the problem. Although my back up is pretty much up to date -- I backed up yesterday -- this afternoon, I was at a sports event my company held, with more than 300 participants, all children. I took more than 100 (possibly 200) photos of the children at the request of the company president, to use on the company's web site and social media accounts (I am the company's webmaster). My phone battery died (the Apple logo came up, and then the screen went blank) as the last of the award winners was on the podium (it happened to be my son, so a friend snapped his photo). When I got into the car, I plugged the phone in, and all I got was the low battery icon. When I got home and plugged the phone into the AC base, the charger/iTunes graphics came up. I thought it odd that iTunes was being requested, so I took the phone and the cable and plugged into my laptop... where I was informed of the need to restore the phone.
I CANNOT restore. I CANNOT lose those photos. I already showed them to my boss (my NEW boss... I only got hired last week!) and she was very excited about how great they'll look online. The site is sorely lacking in photos of our children's events. I cannot restore because it will go back to what I had yesterday... and I need these photos!
How can I NOT restore? Please don't suggest my purchasing some software package. The reason I got this job is because I don't have any income and I can't afford $70 software or the time. If the phone must be restored, then I most definitely will need help in attempting to recover the lost data (the photos!). Please, please help... I just spent the last four hours taking these photos and I cannot afford to lose them! Regardless of what it says here under Product, I hae an iPhone 4s and it is running the most up to date iOS, whatever number that is at this point in time. Thank you in advance for your help!

It is unfortuante that this happened. However, the iPhone will have to be restored. There is no option other than maybe some third party software, if there was another option, you would know already.
You could restore it and see if you had iCloud photostream on. It stores photos you take for up to thirty days. If it was enabled, restore your device and turn it on in settings -> icloud and those photos will show up no problem.
If you did not, it is a possibility that something like dropbox was performing backups of those photos.
I am really sorry this happened to you with the new job and everything, but a restore is unfortunately required as your iPhone has already lost this data anyway.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4486

Similar Messages

My iphone is stuck in recovery mode after restoring, my iphone is stuck in recovery mode after restoring

ive tried putting it in dfu mode and restoring it from their and i need help :/

Hello there, Reekoz.
The following Knowledge Base article should help with issues with an iPhone stuck in recovery mode:
Apple - Support - iPhone - Restore Troubleshooting Assistant
http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/assistant/restore/
Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
Pedro D.

IPhone 3G stuck in recovery mode doesnt restore

I tried upgrading my iPhone 3g iOS from 4.1 to 4.2 .... It did not upgrade and now its stuck in recovery mode and does not even restore. Now its stuck in recovery mode. What to do?

Hello there MKkhann,
I would recommend resetting your iPhone. This will not take it out of recovery mode, but should 'unstick' it. It may take more than 1 attempt to be successful:
Resetting your device
Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button together for at least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears.
From: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch: Turning off and on (restarting) and resetting
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1430
All the very best,
Sterling

IPod stuck on recovery mode cannot restore error 3004

Hello,
My iPod Touch 5th gen is stuck on recovery mode for two days now. I have lost all of my important files, but I am hoping to make it work again.
I was updating to ios 8 the other day and suddenly my iPod turned off and was stuck on recovery mode. No big deal, but then, as I was to restore it, iTunes only says that "The iPod 'iPod' could not be restored. An unknown error occurred (3004)."
I'm here now because I have tried all of the fixes. I have tried to put it on DFU mode (didn't work), changed my DNS settings, updated my iTunes, uninstalling, reinstalling it, turned my PC on and off, used another PC, but nothing has worked. I used some external programs that can get my iDevice to get in and out of DFU mode, but it has not worked.
I am on PC, Windows 8.
Hope anyone can help.

DId you try:
Try to restore or update on another computer with a different Internet connection.

My Iphone is stuck in recovery mode...Help!!!

Please help.. after having fixed a new screen and new battery to my smashed iphone 4s, it was only showing an apple logo on the screen. my iphone 4s needed to restore. so i did the restore and update in itunes.
but now my phone is stuck in recovery mode. i get an error 21.
Please help

Don't double post.
Check your Hosts file and correct it. See other post for reply.

Iphone 3G stuck in recovery mode. Please help.

I know there's a lot of these topics but not many with answers. I recently got an iphone 3g and it's stuck in recovery mode(error 1015) Apple support says it's a software issue and basically said i'm screwed and am on my own. Iv'e tried tinyumbrella and it's just not working, unless i'm doing it wrong. But can anyone help me please?

Hi there scott, i have the same problem, 3g is stuck in recovery mode, could you please email on how to solve this problem. Thanks

Phone stuck in Recovery Mode - cannot restore (error code 9)

Help. I tried to update my iPhone to the latest software and instead of doing this it has now gone in to Recovery Mode (with the yellow triangle and the message to connect to iTunes). When I reconnect it to iTunes it tells me that I have to restore the phone. iTunes then tries to do this but it is unable to complete, Stating "An unkown error occurred (9)."
Any ideas on how to bring my phone back to life?
Message was edited by: Tom Lovering1

I had the same thing happen. After reinstalling itunes and trying lots of things with Applecare over the phone, they put in a repair order and are sending me the packaging to send it in with. The computer could see the phone, but the phone didn't recognize that it was connected to Itunes.

IPhone 4 stuck in recovery mode, wont restore - Error (9)

Hey all,
At my wits end here, my phone froze on the train home tonight, rebooted it, and it came up with the connect to iTunes icon.
Looks like its in recovery mode and I cant get it out. Ive tried getting into DFU mode, different USB ports, different machines, different cables, re-installing iTunes AND RecBoot on Windows and OS X.
Is there ANYTHING else I can do?

Well, as a start, Recboot hosed the network database on your computer, which could be the problem. Especially if you had used it at some time in the past. Look in /etc/hosts, and if you see any lines containing "gs.apple.com" delete those lines.
From your profile you are also using a version of OS X that is not compatible with iTunes 10, which is required to update iPhones. You need OS X Leopard 10.5.8 as a minimum.
See: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3694#error9 for other tips. You could have a bad or dirty connector on the iPhone also. Try cleaning it with a soft, dry toothbrush.

Stuck in Recovery Mode, cannot restore

This morning I connected my iPhone 3GS to my computer and itunes told me it couldn't recognize my phone and needed to restore. This had never happened before but I clicked restore anyways but recieved an error message. After about an hour of trial and error going through Apple's diagnostics I fixed the problem by enabling Itunes in Norton Security, which had just updated recently so I thought that was the issue. Itunes began letting me begin the restore process (without showing an error/failure message) but simply freezes every time halfway through the update. Each time the bar at the top will will up about halfway and then stop forever. If anyone can help me with this issue I would really appreciate it! Obviously I use my phone everyday and it is completely unusable in it's current state. Thank you for any input!!!

No it is not, I've had it for about two months now and have updated it on this computer daily without error. Yesterday I finally got money on my account and downloaded some apps and this is the first time I've connected it to the computer since then, but that;s the only thing I can think of that's changed. I uninstalled norton completely, rebooted, and have no other firewalls. I made an appt with the Express Lane support for half an hour from now so im hoping that they can help me.

Iphone 4 stuck in recovery mode n need help asap

bare with me im new to this,
right got iphone 4 was having pronblems with my photos taking them viewing them every time it just closed on itself read on here try restting every thing, so i went into my general settings and pressed reset entered my code it went black apple sign came up and a lil bar at bottom all went well then the apple came back i thought great its restarting itself then the bar came back and for half an hour thought oh k its taking a while for the bar to come up i went to sleep last night and it was still stuck on the same bar place as it was last night, so i read on here press home button and power and plug it in etc for recovry mode done all that but then relised my computer and phone dnt work together, every time iv plugged my phone in to the compter it came up with my nokia soft where all the time n thought ah i cant still upload my photos from phone to laptop and that was what was important so i left it, today iv uninstalled all nokia things from my laptop but every time i plug my phone into my computer it just asks if i want to upload pics etc on auto play i cant find any thing else to help iv tryed downloading itunes to my laptop and even that is stuck on a loop at the mo tryed several times to put it back on recovry mode and couple times its asked me to put in a disk but i didnt recieve a disk i mean **** ya couldnt even fit a c.d in the packaging it comes in im now totaly lost and in desperate need to get my iphone working again i m really not good at all this so any advice would be lovely but make it simple an d easy please or im guna phone apple and go mental as iv had nothing but propblems so far with this iphone and i so desperatly wanted one for years now i finaly got it im hating it at the mo

hi no i got it new on conratct it worked fine till couple days ago and just wouldnt let me getinto my photos read on here i should go to general and choose reset settings so i did i eneterd my code and now this im now trying for the 3rd time to sort it out over itunes with little sucsess and it is so dissheartening i really thought this was going to help but now i am looking at having to go into my network providers shop over an hour walk away from me as i dont have the car and for them no doubt to just say oh well send it away to get repaired and then no doubt have the nerve to charge me for that priviladge and then not refund me for like month that i will not have my phone

How do i fix my iphone 5 stuck in recovery mode and wont let me restore it just says unknown error 1603 has occured

how do i fix my iphone 5 stuck in recovery mode and wont let me restore it just says unknown error 1603 has occured

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3694#error1603
Follow the steps listed above for Error 1604. Also, discard the .ipsw file, open iTunes and attempt to download the update again. See the steps under Advanced Steps > Rename, move, or delete the iOS software file (.ipsw) below for file locations. If you do not want to remove the IPSW in the original user, try restoring in a new administrator user. If the issue remains, Eliminate third-party security software conflicts.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3694#error1604
This error is often related to USB timing. Try changing USB ports, using a different dock connector to USB cable, and other available USB troubleshooting steps (troubleshooting USB connections. If you are using a dock, bypass it and connect directly to the white Apple USB dock connector cable. If the issue persists on a known-good computer, the device may need service.
If the issue is not resolved by USB isolation troubleshooting, and another computer is not available, try these steps to resolve the issue:
Connect the device to iTunes, confirm that the device is in Recovery Mode. If it's not in Recovery Mode, put it into Recovery Mode.
Restore and wait for the error.
When prompted, click OK.
Close and reopen iTunes while the device remains connected.
The device should now be recognized in Recovery Mode again.
Try to restore again.
If the steps above do not resolve the issue, try restoring using a known-good USB cable, computer, and network connection.

My iphone is stuck in recovery mode. it is about 70 percent done and won't move anymore. This has been going on for the past 2 days. itunes is stuck on the restoring iphone software. Please Help

My iphone is stuck in recovery mode. The apple logo is up and proceeded about 70percent of the way then it just stops moving. I have looked all over the internet and I am out of warranty. On itunes it reads restoring iphone software. My software was 4.3.2 but it was in the process of being upgraded to 4.3.3 so i dont know if it is being restored to 4.3.2 or 4.3.3... Please help

I still have the Same Problem.

Iphone 4 stuck in "recovery mode" how do i free it up without complete wipe and restore?

iphone 4 stuck in "recovery mode" how do i free it up without complete wipe and restore?

You can try doing a power recycle by pressing on the home button and sleep wake button simultaenously.
This will shut down the device you then may press on the sleep wake button to attempt to restart the device. This may or may not resolve the issue.
Good luck.

My iphone is stuck in recovery mode and i can restore it an error keeps coming up?

My iphone is stuck in recovery mode and i cant restore it every time i try to an error comes error 2005 or 11 or 3194.

That often indicates a hardware failure. make an appointment at the genius bar and take it in for them to look at.

After attempting to update to ios 7, my iphone is stuck in recovery mode and will not connect to the itunes software server.

After attempting to update to ios 7, my iphone is stuck in recovery mode and will not connect to the itunes software server. I have already tried the resetting with power swich and home button and plugging into computer but it says the "iPhone software update server cannot be contacted." I am locked out of my phone. Does anyone have any idea how to resolve this issue and get the phone working again. I will add that I am now trying to restore it on a different computer with a lower version of itunes, but the computer that it initially happened on had the updated itunes and gave me the same result ... nothing. Thanks for your help in advance.

Try going to recovery mode as described here. You may have to try this more than once to succeed.
Use the original iTunes that the iPhone synced with.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808

IPhone 3gs stuck in recovery mode, firmware iO 5

My iPhone is stuck in recovery mode. I have a 3gs, firmware 5.0.
Before I tried to restore it, my iPhone would randomly shut off, turn back on, and display a notification that said "Activation Required." Now, sometimes my phone would shut off again and return to it's previous working state. However, this time it did not. I put the phone into recovery mode and tried restoring it on my Acer Aspire 1 with Windows 7. iTunes put the phone through the various stages of restoration; Extracting Software, Preparing iPhone for Restore, Restoring Software, Verifying Restore, Restoring Firmware. After all of this, a nice little error message pops up that reads, "The iPhone 'iPhone' could not be restored. An unknown error has occured (1)."
After this little mishap occured four more times, I decided to click "More Information," and was promptly brought to the help page set up here. I proceeded to troubleshoot by updating to the latest version of iTunes, updating my security, restarting my computer, and so forth until all the necessary precautions were performed. Now it was back to iTunes to try my luck at getting my life back.
To my delight, I found that this time the restoration process took upwards of forty minutes to complete. However, to my despair, a nice little error message popped up that read, "The iPhone 'iPhone' could not be restored. An unknown error has occured (-1)." Ah, a different error message! i thought, feeling as if there was hope in fixing my phone. I clicked "More Information" and skimmed through the specific error messages, looking for that lucky -1. Nothing.
I need help. I have attempted to restore my phone a dozen times since this occurence, and I'm growing tired of going through the same process over and over and getting the same result. My phone is stuck in recovery mode now. I've tried restoring the phone on 2 different computers, to find out if, in fact, the problem was my iPhone and not my computer.
Some important information you may need to know in order to help me solve my problem:
iPhone 3gs
Running iOS 5.0
Using iTunes 10.5
On an Acer Aspire One Netbook
Running Windows 7
All security updates installed as of November 7, 2011
Also iTunes 10.5 on Acer Aspire 57354774 laptop
Running Windows 7
Reply ASAP with a solution please!

Hello,
I have an iPhone 3GS which I updated with the last firmware (iOS 5) 2 weeks ago. Everything goes ok.
And suddenly, while the phone was recharching. It asked me to activate it but I was unable to do it as it was rebooting constantly every time I connected it to iTunes.
I tried both 2 restore modes (Restore and DFU) but since I can't achieve a restore with the last Apple iOS 5 firmware. I got the error code 1.
I I tried on 3 different computers but same error. I really don't know what to do next...
I already called Apple Customer Care and I'm still waiting for an answer. I let you know.
And you, did you manage to get your iPhone back alive ?

IPhone 4s stuck in Recovery Mode. CANNOT Restore. Help!

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for